Faking It For Funds: When Brands Use Activism as Advertising
Marketing and social media have become integral parts of our daily lives and have the power to influence our thoughts and actions. Of course with great power comes great responsibility so at times we find brands using it for bad or trying to gain more with marketing that is completely OFF. Many companies have begun to disguise their marketing efforts as activism, using social media to spread their messages and convince the public that their products are supporting a cause.
Remember that whole Kendell Jenner/ Pepsi fiasco, which, essentially, was the latters failed attempt at portraying itself as the cure to racism (yes, racism)...with the help of a skinny white woman (who approved this??). The commercial depicted her as a beacon for world peace who could end a protest, Simply with a can of sugar water. It was profound(ly bad) and instead of raising awareness(?), it became a perfect example of how to be blatantly tone-deaf.
Faux Activism and virtue signaling — an attempt to show other people that you are a good person, for example by expressing opinions that will be acceptable to them, especially on social media — finds itself at the forefront of more politically charged issues like Pride, Black Lives Matter, Climate Change, ect. There's a thin line between communicating your core values to connect with an audience and using real issues to sell products and a lot of our favorite brands fail at differentiating this every year (looking at you, Target).
In addition, product tags like Body-Positivity and Animal-Cruelty are popular for brands these days, but what lies beneath? It seems like a good cause at first glance, but the truth is that a lot of the time it’s just another way for brands to market their products. Many companies use these words to convince people that their products or services are better than their competitors, regardless of whether or not they actually meet these criteria. Even if the company is genuinely trying to do good, but oftentimes it comes across as inauthentic.
As consumers, we hold the power so it’s essential that we be aware of this kind of marketing masquerading as activism so that we don’t end up supporting brands who in fact DO NOT align with our own values. Being a consumer is political. Just like a candidate for public office, we need to be able to trust who were supporting.
So how do we do this?
Be a critical consumer & do your research! Take the extra step to find out things like who owns the company, where is the product produced, and what’s in it. You worked hard for your money, make sure you're giving it to the right people.
As an agency, one of our core values is Authenticity. Which means we really value transparency. One of our goals is to work with brands to create a more ethical marketplace. Learn more about how we’re building brilliant brands here.
Photo By Long Tang
